Sunday, August 22, 2010

Libraries III--Not Fiction--Libraries created and enriched from trash

BBC World News America has a short news story about Benedito da Silva, who works sorting garbage in Brazil. Silva describes how he began collecting books out of the garbage and taking them home and eventually building his own library collection. He also donates them to his local public library (Luiz Odair de Sousa). Silva tells the BBC that before he began collecting books out of the trash, he could not read. As he began saving the books, he also improved his ability to read. In this short news story, Silva talks about the volume of trash in Brazil and the world and the problems it creates and the carelessness of such waste. He emphasizes the value that he and others provide sorting through all of the trash. Silva calls for others to view their work with the respect it deserves.